Skeletons, ghosts, masks and costumes of all kinds are up for sale all over Ho Chi Minh City in anticipation of Halloween on October 31.
A young person shops for the right costume on Nguyen Minh Khai Street
Despite high prices, these products have been a hit with customers, especially around the southern metro.
Many shops in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 1, Nguyen Dinh Chieu in District 3 and several others, have been showcasing Halloween costumes.
Shop owners said that the more ghastly the costumes are, the more attractive they are to customers. Meanwhile, sale of products such as angels or funny toys have been very modest and mostly only girls and children are interested.
The best seller these days are various bloody looking items, ghoulish and devil masks. Masks are going for between VND50,000 (USD 2.5) and VND200,000 (USD 10) each. Also available are masks imitating faces of characters in the 3D film Avatar and pop King Michael Jackson.
Other popular costumes are priced at several hundred thousand VND.
This year, it seems anybody who wants a Halloween costume can have one as they are readily available and their are many prices to suit needs.
However, to buy unique and impressive make-up, customers will have to spend more, sometimes millions of VND.
Mr. Minh, an owner of a Halloween costume shop in Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, District 5, said this year’s the Halloween atmosphere in Ho Chi Minh City was more exciting than previous years with more people looking for costumes.
In the past, the average amount spent on costumes was between VND50,000 and VND200,000. This year, many people, especially young people aged 15 to 25, are spending millions of VND to buy unique costumes. The number of items priced from VND800,000 (USD 40) to VND3 million (USD 150) is double that of previous years.
Mr. Minh, a shop owner in the city, said he had made two skeletons costing VND1.8 million (USD 90) each, symbolising a couple in love for a family in District 7. He said, “This is an extremely unique product. I assure you that no shop in Ho Chi Minh City has this kind of disguise.”
Many customers have also turned to tailors to have costumes made.
Traders said that the majority of materials for sewing Halloween costumes was imported at a time when the U.S. dollar appreciated against the dong, resulting in a price hike of products.
A mask made popular by the movie “Scream”
More popular Halloween masks
